Your News: This Week's 6 Must-Read Health Stories

Your News: This Week's 6 Must-Read Health Stories

Greatist News examines and explains the trends and studies making headlines in fitness, health, and happiness. Check out all the news here.

This week had it's fair share of cool happenings. Greatist was on top of all the current news, but there were still a slew of must-read headlines that slipped through. News this week ran the gamut, whether it was new research touting high intensity training, a potential disease epidemic, or that the next generation car will be... a bike?

It’s nearly impossible to read every story that affects our health. So we rounded up our top story picks right here in our weekly news roundup. Check it out and get in the know!

1. Get Better Exercise Results with High and Low Intensity Training

"Intensity is EVERYTHING." That may be true for some, but a new study from Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence suggests a combination of high and low intensity training offers better results than moderate exercise. While it's important to push your body to a safe limit, constant high-intensity training can lead to muscle fatigue. Spurts intensity training act as active rest periods. "It is a case of training smarter," Dr. Stuart Galloway told HNGN. "We found in these cyclists that if you can make the hard sessions harder and the easy sessions easier then you will likely see better progress. Amateur athletes tend to spend a lot of their training in a moderate intensity bracket which in our study showed much smaller improvements.

2. The "Car of the Future" Might Be a Bike?

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWzdWMapJ-c[/embed]

A car normally has four wheels, right? One of the biggest attractions at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit was, of all things, a bike. The bike, called the Prius Parlee, was designed by Prius in conjunction with Parlee Cycles. The bicycle itself isn't groundbreaking, save for some improved aerodynamics and a dock for your iPhone, but the inclusion of this eco-friendly two-wheeler is a huge step forward for the auto industry, which has shifted more and more towards hybrid vehicles and alternative fuel to meet buyer demand.

3. Antibiotic-Resistant Diseases Could Pose Epidemic Threat

The only thing worse than this flu going around, is the prospect that the flu could get "smarter." Diseases like TB or gonorrhea have shown to adapt and become resistant to antibiotics. For example, England's Chief Medical Office Dame Sally Davies said that 80 percent of gonorrhea was now resistant to the frontline antiobiotic. Even more life-threatening diseases are also showing to be resistant to carbapenems, an antiobiotic used to fight many serious infections. Davies warned British MPs that the increase in these diseases could create a national emergency equivalent to a catastrophic terrorist attack.

4. Consumer Alert: Mobile Apps That Detect Skin Cancer Not Accurate

Put down the phone, this might be bad. A new study found that smartphone apps designed to detect skin cancer and cancer lesions misdiagnose more than half of malignant growths. The fact that a mobile app can't accurately diagnose cancer isn't a real shocker, especially since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn't approved most apps which claim to detect cancer. While its exciting to see apps that try to solve medical issues, it's more important for those apps to work properly. For the time being, it looks like dermatologists are still our best option.

5. Well, We Shouldn't Eat Mackerel Anymore

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has taken another friendly, finned protein off of the "Fish to Eat" list. First off, yes, that's a real list. Secondly, this is mixed news for seafood lovers. Even though mackerel has been lauded as a healthy, sustainable fish, over-fishing has threatened its numbers. The move was made by MCS, Britain's largest marine charity. Mackerel is still fair game, but should only be eaten occasionally, much like monkfish and plaice.

Let's end on a light note. There is a real reason why white bread just smells more appetizing than its healthier, whole-grain cousins. The culprit, says Devin Peterson, co-director of the Flavor Research and Education Center at the University of Minnesota, is ferulic acid. Apparently, whole-wheat bread contains all parts of the wheat, including bran which contains ferulic acid. That bran acts as on override switch that neutralizes all those tantalizing, fresh-baked smells that come from white bread. Basically, bran equals health, but no bran equals mouth-watering smells. Understandably, the Whole Grains Council was a little bit peeved, citing stats that show whole-grain consumption is increasing year-over-year. Sounds like they could use some white bread to cheer them up.